The New Wanderers
by J. Donavan Edmond
Summary: Taking place following Legion of 3 Worlds, this is my take on the comic book series that may never be, combining concepts of Marvel's Exiles with those of the Authority although, not as rude as they are and, of course, the Legion.
1. Issue 1 The NoPlace Place

**_Preface:_**_ This series takes place after the events of Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds. As such, there will be some spoilers. Although I try to describe characters to the best of my ability within the narrative, this story does rely on some knowledge of the Legion comics and DC in general. I will be pulling from all over the DC Multiverse for this, hopefully taking you along for the ride. If you have questions as to whom a character is or why they are doing what they're doing, message me and I will get back to you. Also, I will be eventually paring down to a primary team of Wanderers with the rest of the characters as back-up (not unlike the Legion cartoons that came out recently). I would love to hear feedback as to who you would like to see as part of this team!_

**The New Wanderers Issue #1 - The No-Place Place**

Phlox didn't have hands. It had never before really cared that it had no hands. Thanks to its powerful and capable telekinetic abilities, it had never required the limbs that most species seemed to develop. Phlox's people had, through the development of powerful, constant telekinetic abilities, evolved in such a way that they simply were beyond the need for arms and legs. However, given the situation in which Phlox now found itself, it suddenly wished it had a hand if, for no other reason, to place his small head in it to ease his distress. In the last few months, Phlox had determined the reason for its peoples' rampant xenophobia. Emotional stress and weariness, it turned out, was a side-effect of interfacing with limbed species.

It longed for the gray mists and shining silver glaciers of his homeworld, Feszedt. Phlox looked out the portal that was on its left. Outside was nothing. No planet, no stars, not even the blackness of space. There was simply an endless void which his mind translated as whiteness. Phlox was stuck in some sort of Limbo with its teammates. It would have rather have been alone.

The Feszedtian looked to its right, noting three of its teammates who were likely in a similar emotional state as it. Two of them, Micro Lass and Physo, were mirroring the action that Phlox itself wished it could do; their heads in their hands in exasperation. The third, however, had an emotional state that Phlox found quite odd given the situation. Her real name was Sa-Han Dinder Soon, but she called herself Inferno due to her ability to generate an enormous amount of heat and fire. She sat, staring out the window, with the barest hint of a smile on her face. Phlox began to consider questioning her on his behavior when its train of thought was interrupted by another pair of allies as they entered the cabin.

"Telekinesis," Mekt Ranzz announced to the room, using Phlox's codename, "We need you up front." He was accompanied by Jeyra Entinn, who had come to refer to herself as Titangirl and who had become Ranzz's constant counterpart since the incident which had left the group stranded outside their universe.

"Do you have any news of rescue, Mekt?" Physo said, lifting his head from his mire of despair.

"Maybe, Chuck." The leader replied, "We've located an object, but it's impossible to tell exactly how far away it is without any sort of reference points. Acumen is assuming a significant distance, but he's not certain."

"We need to move this ship, Telekinesis." Titangirl added, "We're hoping that you can push something this big." She indicated the interior of the vessel.

"I do not see why I could not," the Feszedtian broadcast, "Unless there is some factor here that would prevent it. However, I would require a target towards which to motivate this vessel."

"Leave that to Tarik." Mekt said with a strained smile, "He says he can calculate the proper coordinates as long as Acumen and White Witch are able to maintain a scan of it. We're going to be utilizing our abilities to create our own targeting system. Tyr has set it all up. All we need is the force to propel the missile to the target."

"Which I, of course, can provide." Telekinesis said. Without another word, it walked into the cockpit of the vessel. Despite the damage done when it was shunted across the Universal Membrane, the ship that held the team was left relatively intact. The ship's drive, however, was rendered completely inoperable from the journey. Phlox had been reasonably certain it would be called upon to provide motivation to the vessel and had been preparing for the strain.

"I'll provide direct contact between Mysa, Vrax, Tarik, and yourself to reduce the possibility of error." Titangirl added as Phlox floated into the control room.

The other members of the group were busy with their various duties as he entered. The White Witch, whose real name was Mysa Nal, floated, legs crossed and had a slight glow around her. He could almost see her aura reaching outside the vessel to seek out life, structures, debris; anything at all. Seated near her was Tarik, a human who had begun calling himself Calculator. He worked the tracking systems from his station staring intently into the viewer. On the other side of the control room sat Vrax Gozzl, who had taken on the codename Acumen. He was corking several control systems simultaneously, utilizing his brilliant Coluan intellect to constantly re-configure their electronic tracking systems as needed. Standing just off center was Tyr, whose tactical genius and skill with weapon systems were unmatched. He kept an eye on everyone's role, ready to lend his assistance when needed.

Telekineses floated to the area between the pilot's and co-pilot's chairs, taking his place for the journey ahead. Seconds later, Titangirl created a link between the five of them and the path to possible rescue became clear. Phlox pictured the invisible force he had known his entire life pushing against the vessel. Telekinesis could feel the pressure of the force; sense the forward movement; but without any outside objects for comparison, there was no way he could determine whether they were moving or not.

"Well?" Mekt asked.

"We are moving," Titangirl responded, "Telekinesis can sense it."

"And the distance to the object is decreasing." Calculator added.

"Any idea what it is?" The group's leader asked.

Acumen checked his equipment, "It's still not close enough for an active scan," He said, "But it is quite large."

"And it actually seems to be resistant to my mystical senses." White Witch added.

"Then we need to get closer." Mekt ordered. He stepped towards the front screen where a tiny dot had appeared. "What are you?" he asked the distant object.

Deep inside, Phlox feared what the answer would be.

* * *

"Cos, I cannot help you." Andromeda said with no small amount of sadness to her friend, "I cut my ties with the Church of Valor when I re-joined the Legion, you know this."

"I do, Andy, but in our current situation, you are the only one with any real theological ties, whatsoever and, frankly, I can't think of anyone I would be more honored to officiate this."

For a long moment, Andromeda stared at the man she had come to know as a natural leader and inspiration. What Rokk Krinn was asking her was beyond what she had been taught, but given their current situation, what other option was there? She smiled as she realized that the only real choice was the one she desperately wanted to make.

"In that case, I would be honored to do so." She held her right hand towards him, palm open and fingers splayed out in the manner of the Church of Valor. Cosmic Boy interwove his fingers with hers and held tightly. Although she could barely feel the pressure, she appreciated the sentiment. The two of them hugged in an embrace that felt all the years of their friendship which had been built out of pain, loss, betrayal, and redemption.

"Terrible idea." Brainiac 5.1 announced as he re-entered the room.

Rokk looked to the Coluan. "What's your problem, Brainy?" He said with annoyance.

"Our current situation is what we should be concentrating on and, frankly, your proposal does, in many ways, contradict what we need to do."

"Querl, you're being ridiculous." Andromeda replied to him, stepping close, "We need every bit of happiness we can get, after what we've been through and, frankly, Cos and Jazmin may deserve it more than any of us."

As she approached, Brainiac 5.1 looked up at her from his datapad and his green skin darkened around the cheeks. Andromeda knew that she had more than a little control over the smitten genius and the blushing was a sure sign that she could probably win the argument. Still, he would never go down without a fight, "Laurel, we need to stay focused." He said, "Our recent encounter with the other-dimensional Legions highlighted the fact that certain members of all three teams were unique to the team they were involved in. Furthermore, it is clear to me that our team from Universe-247 actually has more anomalous members than the other two, yourself included, Andromeda. If we are to continue with our stated goal of seeking out those who have survived the destruction of their universe and are lost in the Multiverse, we must take precautions to ensure that we cause as little additional stress as possible."

"Meaning?" Rokk said, allowing Brainiac to go into one of his infamous over-explanations before being insistent he got to the point.

"Meaning," The Coluan repeated with some level of annoyance, "That certain members of our team will be required to make first contact with those we encounter, the choice of which should be determined by our encounter with our duplicates. Kid Quantum, Andromeda, Ferro, Gear, Shikiri, and Dreamer are prime on this list."

Andromeda began to see where he was going. "You said you needed Gear to help with the repairs we're doing to Warworld, Querl." she said.

Cosmic Boy added, "And we need Shikiri's superhuman tracking skills to locate survivors, not to mention Dreamer's ability to see the future to determine our next move."

"You see our quandary. We have no more than three individuals who are capable of operating with reasonable assurance that they would not cause further chronal damage."

"Are we certain that damage would be done?" Rokk asked.

"No, actually." Brainiac answered, "We are in new territory with this. Theoretically, it is possible that there would be no chronal impact should you encounter a duplicate of yourself, but there is no guarantee without further study."

"I guess with the Time Trapper's involvement, the encounter with the other Legions was a unique situation." Andromeda added.

"Indeed," said Brainiac 5.1, "And you still saw what happened when he and his past self interacted. We must take the utmost care. With this in mind, I cannot help but recommend against your current course with Jazmin Cullen, Cosmic Boy."

Andromeda and Cosmic Boy stared at the Coluan for a moment as they came to realize he was correct. Andromeda began to turn away but noticed that Brainiac's expression had changed. He was smiling.

"Then again," he said, Rokk lifting his head to look at him, "When has anyone ever listened to me."

The three of them shared a laugh. Rokk put his hand on Brainiac's shoulder. "Does this mean we can count on you to be there?"

"I'll be in the front row." The Coluan replied.

They parted ways and Andromeda set about her preparations. She moved through the hallways of the place that had once been known as Warworld. Recent events had necessitated locating a base of operations and, although Brainiac 5.1 was pleased to have located a vessel with the size and technological wonders that Warworld contained, most of the rest of the team was uncomfortable finding themselves in a place that had become synonymous with so many monstrous events throughout history. Unfortunately, the need for a home, as well as the need for something that would allow for as much expansion as the massive, moon-sized space vessel would, overruled any apprehension the team might have had.

When the team had faced off against the time-hopping Fatal Five alongside the 21st Century's Teen Titans, they had been trapped outside their reality as it collapsed. Only Shikiri, the team's alien tracker, managed to escape. However, the tracker managed to locate the team in the void. Andromeda had not been with them, but had, through her battle with her nemesis Roxxas, been shunted outside of Universe-247 at the moment of its destruction. The Legion had located her in the void and, very soon after, they were called to assist two other teams of Legionnaires in battling Superboy Prime and his massive Legion of Super-Villains. That enemy defeated, they had chosen to return to the Multiverse in order to find and help others who were refugees of time-space anomalies.

Almost immediately, they managed to locate the lost and damaged Warworld and began to re-build it to suit their needs. A priority for some of the team, including Gear, who could interface directly with computer systems, desired for the planet to be completely disarmed before they began utilizing it. Brainy and several others, however, made the argument that having a heavily-armed battlestation could actually be quite useful, even if many of the weapons were non-functional. "Deterrent," was the word he had used. Part of Andromeda could not disagree, but that part of her that had found redemption in the shadow of the great Valor wanted nothing more than to dismantle every single planet-threatening weapon on the station.

Despite any minor conflicts that had arisen, they had come a long way in a fairly short amount of time, although it had been impossible to determine how long until Invisible Kid set up a time-keeping system. The Multiversal Void, as it turned out, had null-time. No one seemed to age and even those who could maintain an efficient internal clock, such as Brainiac 5.1 and Gear, had nothing on which to gauge their clocks until Lyle Norg had invented one. Their powers allowed them to make a great deal of progress, but there were still commodities that they could not develop. Life support and food were in the early stages of becoming a concern, although no one was in danger, yet.

As Andromeda entered her quarters, she realized that she was not putting herself in the right frame of mind. Thinking about what had occurred inevitably led to her mood becoming grim and, as Cos had implied, it was especially important for her to maintain a an upbeat attitude. Especially with what they were currently planning. Andromeda was certain that this would be the boost to morale that they badly needed. She opened her closet doors. This was not the time to recall the terrible events which had led to this moment. This was the time to find the perfect outfit.

* * *

"Beloved friends and family." Sister Laurel Gand began the ceremony. Gathered were all those who had been lost together. Val Armorr, often also known as the Karate Kid, assessed the room, taking in every detail, every nuance. It was not something he chose to do, it was simply his years of intense training. He had learned to see any weakness in anything and would do so unconsciously on a constant basis. It was this skill that made him a valuable member of the team and the Engineers, as Brainiac 5.1, Gear, and Invisible Kid had come to be referred to, had especially sought his services as they repaired Warworld.

For his part, Karate Kid helped, but he sought the serenity of meditation as often as he could. The group had been under constant stress since they had faced the hundreds of time variants of the Fatal Five and Val had begun to take much of the stress on himself. It thought is was a superb idea to bring everyone together for a happy event.

He observed the gathered Legionnaires. The couples stood out the most. Apparition had her head on the shoulder of her husband and father of her child, Ultra Boy (whose issues had recently been resolved). Saturn Girl and had Live Wire's arm around her. Chameleon and Sensor sat very close, as did Star Boy and Dreamer. M'onel and Umbra were seated together, but not as close as some of the other couples. What was surprising was that Shikiri sat close to Wildfire, whose forays into the void together had clearly brought them the beginnings of a relationship. The rest; Timber Wolf, Triad, Invisible Kid, LeViathan, Gear, Spark, Brainiac 5.1, and Ferro sat without dates, but mostly grouped together. Only Karate Kid had sat without any nearby company. This was at the request of Invisible Kid, who had asked that he look out for trouble. Although incredibly unlikely, Lyle knew that no one in the room would see it before Val.

"We are gathered here, today," The ceremony continued, "To witness the joining of two souls: Rokk Krinn and Jazmin Cullen; our beloved Cosmic Boy and Kid Quantum. They, like all of us, have fought through constant adversity for years. And through it all, they have forged a bond of love between them that cannot be broken by all of time and space."

Karate Kid noted that a tear was in LeViathan's eye. She was likely thinking of Gim Allon, the former Leviathan, in who's death she had some responsibility. Val knew the pain of these people. They were all friends and that bond could not be broken; they had proven as much through the trials the team had undergone.

"We honor the memory of friends who cannot be with us, knowing that if they could be here, they would look upon these events from wherever they are with pride and joy."

This brought smiles and tears to the faces of more members of the crowd. Val knew they were thinking about those who had died in battle: Leviathan, Element Lad, Monstress, Kinetix, and the first Kid Quantum; as well as those who had, for whatever reasons, been unable to be present: Gates, XS, Magno, Thunder, Chuck Taine, Tenzil Kem, Lori Morning, Superboy, and even Inferno, although her tenure was more by necessity than any real desire to be a Legionnaire.

"It is for them, and for all of us that have sacrificed so much, that I invite you to bear witness to the joy of this union." Andromeda continued, "For all the battles of the Legion of Super-Heroes, the greatest foe we often face is that which holds us back from stating our true feelings." (Brainiac 5.1 rubbed the bridge of his nose with his thumb and fore-finger) "But these brave souls have faced that foe and eventually, one found the courage to ask the other out for a date."

The crowd snickered at this. Although they had been through a lot, they were still young and everyone understood the idea of the kind of bravery about which Andromeda spoke. Even Val smiled.

The ceremony continued on. Andromeda had clearly put a lot of thought into her speech and the crowd was moved by it. The pair exchanged their own vows, as well, which were heartfelt and strong. Some of the other couples held each other tighter as the nuptials neared their conclusion.

"So, with the power vested in me by the Church of Valor and by Cosmic Boy when he asked me to do this," Andromeda said, a wry smile appearing on her face as the group chuckled again, "I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss."

"Damn right, we may." Kid Quantum said as she and Cosmic Boy embraced in a passionate kiss. Music, electronically provided by Gear, flowed through the room. The crowd stood and cheered. Val could feel his smile and even a tear or two behind his stern eyes. This happiness was more than they had all felt in ages and even the stoic Karate Kid was swept up in it. He was pleased he had been asked to remain separate. He didn't want anyone to see his strong facade break down, even for a moment.

As the crowd died down, Cosmic Boy stepped to the center with his new wife. The two of them were born leaders and to see them together brought a swell of pride. With these two leading the group, nothing could overcome them.

"Thank you all for coming." Cosmic Boy said to the group, "I want to let you all know how grateful we are to have you here and to have you as our friends. I also want to make some other announcements, of a more, official nature. Given our current situation and mission, calling ourselves the Legion of Super-Heroes might not be appropriate. We have a different vision than we did before and I believe that we should have a title that evokes such a vision. Prior to leaving the Legion of New Earth, Ferro referred to us as the Wanderers. I can't think of a name more appropriate, can you?"

The crowd applauded the decision, some of them standing in agreement. Cosmic Boy continued:

"In addition, we have this great planetoid that we're in the process of turning into a base of operations. Of course, I'm not crazy about the name of this, either. What do you think of 'Warworld'?"

Boos and jeers came from the team.

"I couldn't agree more. So, since he renamed the team, I talked to Andrew about renaming the base and he came up with the perfect one: 'The Ronin.'"

A smattering of applause could be heard eventually growing until everyone was cheering and patting Ferro on the back. Val smiled. He and Ferro had become good friends durning the years the Legion was separated and he felt some pride for his friend.

"Finally," Cosmic Boy added, I know that we all have been concerned about the remaining necessities, but I want you all to know that we are in the process of taking care of this. Soon enough, we'll have a self-sustaining eco-system that we can rely on. This means that we can't really do much in the way of a celebratory meal, at the current time. However, just this morning, Shikiri and Wildfire located a asteroid with a mining colony that seems to be completely abandoned. This colony appears to have been completely stocked before the colonists left, so we can look forward to a possible re-supply very soon."

This was the biggest eruption of cheers. Despite the fact that the colony may have something dangerous going on, it was most likely empty and abandoned like so much of the other debris the group had located. If this was true, they would be fully stocked long enough to get the eco-system up and running. This was the best news of the day. Cosmic Boy let everyone cheer for a while. As they began to quiet down, the proximity alarms went off.

Immediately, Brainiac 5.1 brought up a holo display from his datapad. It showed the area nearby relative to the Ronin. Cosmic Boy, M'onel, and Invisible Kid gathered around him to assess the situation.

"What is it?" asked Ferro, who had moved closer.

"It seems to be a shuttle of some sort." Answered Brainiac 5.1, "Advanced technology, but different from the advancement from our 31st Century."

"Can we communicate with it?" Cosmic Boy inquired.

"I'm sending a signal on all frequencies, but there doesn't seem to be any power to the shuttle." The Coluan said. He looked up at the leader. "We should investigate."

"Already on it, Brainy." Responded Kid Quantum, "Karate Kid, M'onel, Wildfire, Shikiri, you're with me. Cos, we should put prep fro a rescue in case we have injured."

"Agreed." Rokk responded, "Triad, Chameleon, LeViathan, Apparition, Saturn Girl; you're on stand-by for search and rescue. Brainy, prepare the sick bay. The rest of you be ready, as well. We don't know what we're dealing with and if anything nasty shows up, I want to drop the full force of the Legi..." Cosmic Boy stopped and blushed a little, "Er, the Wanderers on them."

Everyone smiled at the error. "Ferro," Triad added, "We're going to need you to think up a new battle-cry. 'Long Live the Wanderers' doesn't cut it."

Everyone smiled as they set off to prepare for the mission. Karate Kid was already thinking of words that would be alliterate with "Wanderers."

* * *

"What the hell happened?!" Hart Druiter yelled as he entered the main cabin of the ship. He was trying to get some sleep when he was suddenly shaken out of his bunk by a violent rocking caused by an explosion. He had struck the ceiling, then the floor, and then, as the artificial gravity ceased entirely, floated aimlessly. Hart couldn't exactly say that he was the best example of a zero-gravity combatant; he had always relied on his powers more than any training. Having the ability to gain the exact powers needed to defeat whomever he might be facing, Hart's codename, Nemesis Kid, didn't seem to matter when his nemesis was zero gravity.

"So sorry, Kid," Tyr spat, acidly, "Did we wake you?" He was nursing a head wound as he floated; orbs of silver blood leaking from behind his fingers. Near him, floated an unconscious Titangirl, Telekinesis, and Acumen. Behind them, White Witch and Tarik were having their own injuries nursed by Micro Lass and Inferno and behind them, Polar Boy and Physo had used their powers to seal up what appeared to be a breach into the cockpit. Near them, crackling with electricity, floated Mekt Ranzz.

Most of the remaining Wanderers; Kid Quake, Plant Kid, and Thoom appeared behind Hart, each mirroring his query. As he surveyed the scene, Nemesis Kid noticed two members missing.

"Where's Grav? Where's Kromak?" He asked, a realization striking him, "Where the hell is our healer?!"

"Grav and Kromak are gone, Nemesis Kid." Tarik answered, "Our healer and our gravity just flew out the front window."

"A window that was destroyed when our leader exploded!" Tyr said, turning to stare at Ranzz's limp form.

"That's never happened before, Tyr," White Witch said, trying to diffuse his anger, "There must be something outside that is affecting him."

Tyr pulled a mono-blade from his belt. "Well, he's dangerous, so I say we use something in here that will affect him, permanently."

"Don't be stupid, Tyr," Tarik said, interceding between the crimson-skinned Tyrrazian and their leader, "We know nothing about the electricity that resides within him. What if he explodes again upon his death? This cabin is all that we have, now."

Tyr stared at the one that had come to call himself Calculator and then at Ranzz. Finally, he put away his weapon. "How are we on life support?" He asked.

"Plant Kid?" Inquired Tarik to the young man behind Nemesis Kid.

"We should be fine, as long as we have water." The young man named Ral Benam answered, "Also, food is taken care of as long as none of us are carnivores."

"Water can be recycled, and I can adapt to the vegetation." Said Tyr, eliciting a few uncomfortable looks as people realized what he meant by "recycled", "What is the situation with our target, Calculator?"

"We have momentum." Tarik replied, "Without any outside force to intervene, we will reach it."

"And..." Tyr led.

Calculator looked at him, aware of what he was looking for, "And we will impact with it."

Aware of the danger they were in, everyone's mood dropped further. Tyr, however, puffed out his chest and allowed himself to float to the upper part of the cabin.

"Okay, team," he said, "We need to assume that Mekt was attacked by whatever we are approaching. I know that we are in a bad situation, but this sort of thing was exactly the reason I was recruited for. White Witch, I want to do what you can to wake Telekinesis. He can slow us down. Polar Boy, can you somehow create an airlock?"

"Maybe," Brek Bannin replied, "I might need Telekinesis to hold it together when it's used, though."

"I'm counting on that," Tyr added, "Okay, people, I know things look bad, but this is what I do. When Mekt approached me, he knew that my training in the Tyrraz military is second-to-none. In hopeless situations, I don't just survive, I thrive. As of this moment, all of you are going to do the exact same thing. Something or someone is out there and when it's here, it damn well better be nice."

"Or what?" Nemesis Kid asked, sarcastically.

"Or we're going to cram you down their its until it chokes."

* * *

"Brainy, do we have any contact?" Kid Quantum asked over the comm.

"None, Jazmin," came the response, "Scans show life signs, but we have no communication as of yet. Be careful."

"Always." she responded.

As the team approached the shuttle, they could see the cockpit. The thick glass had been shattered and a body could be seen floating inside. The door to the small control room was sealed in ice. Jazmin dropped her head for a moment, in reverence, and then continued to move towards the vessel. It had sustained a lot of damage, but the cabin seemed mostly intact, although she could tell that some quick repairs had been done with ice in a manner similar to the cockpit.

"We have some exterior damage, team." Jazmin broadcast, "Wildfire, I want you to assess it. If you think it's something you can weld together, be ready to do so."

"Sprock it," Brainiac 5.1's voice said over the comm, "I should be there. My force field could..."

"Not do as much as my stasis fields can, Brainy." Kid Quantum interrupted, "We need your smarts on the ship just like we need my hubby's good looks on the ship."

"Let's not become the couple that everyone hates because of our cute little remarks, hon." Cosmic Boy broadcast, "Besides, we all know that you're the good-looking one."

"Agreed." Wildfire added.

"Kid Quantum, there are stress cracks along the hull of the shuttle," Karate Kid said as he did a circle around the object, "But nothing that would indicate any sort of attack."

"Thanks, Val." She replied, "Be ready for anything... you know, like you always are."

"I'll try." Val Armorr joked.

It was good to see him in good humor. Jazmin had noted him having become especially stoic since the group had been lost in the Multiverse. He seemed more focused and on-guard than usual; which was saying quite a bit for Karate Kid. Still, since the announcement of the wedding, she could have sworn she had seen him smile at least once. If Karate Kid's spirits were lifted by the event, Kid Quantum could only imagine what it did for the morale of the rest of the team. She had been unprepared, in many ways, for such a step, but Rokk had suggested that it would be a good boost. Jazmin couldn't help but agree.

Of course, she also knew that he actually really wanted to make that commitment to her. The morale boost was a convenient excuse.

"I sense movement inside." Shikiri said.

"Can you tell how many?" Inquired Jazmin as she flew closer to the vessel.

"No." The tracker responded, "I would also like to note that the movement of the vessel, itself, does not appear to be under its own power but simply momentum."

Kid Quantum looked at the shuttle. It had clearly been badly damaged by whatever forces had brought it to this place but there could be no way of being certain that whomever was inside would be friendly. A decision had to be made and only Jazmin could make it.

"Wildfire, Shikiri, Kid, be ready." She ordered as she prepared a stasis field to prevent anything from escaping from within, including atmosphere, "M'onel, open it up."

* * *

"Something's outside!" Inferno shouted as the walls began to buckle and tear, "And it wants in!"

"Be prepared to kill, team!" Tyr ordered, "Inferno, Polar Boy, Kid Quake, White Witch; I want you to tear into whoever comes through that wall with everything you've got. Thoom, Nemesis Kid, Micro Lass, Physo, I want you to deal with what's left."

He leveled his massive blaster weapon at the ceiling which was being torn open by hands more powerful than anyone who was on board. Tyr was determined to survive this experience, even if he had to sacrifice each and every single one of his teammates.

* * *

M'onel peeled away the the roof of the shuttle. He was somewhat shocked by what he saw. Within were a handful of costumed humanoids prepared to attack whatever it was that was coming for them. He raised his hands in a gesture of peace and then motioned to the opening, trying to indicate that they were safe.

"What the #&%! do you think that means, Jes?" A woman with a massive amount of cybernetic upgrades said in English, much to M'onel's.

"I don't know, but I'm happy to not be floating out into space." Answered another who had golden skin, red eyes, and was heavily armed.

"He's telling us he's not here to hurt us." Said another who wore a yellow and red outfit that always seemed to indicate a heat generator and who's fists, until he spoke, had been glowing with fiery energy.

"That's right." M'onel reassured him, managing to shake off the shock he felt, "We are the Wanderers and he have your vessel in a stasis field. We're going to tow you back to our base where we can help you in any way you require. My name is M'onel."

"Well, M'onel, you got here just in time." The fiery man said, "We've been out of food for three days and filtration hasn't been doing so great with the atmosphere. Plus, you know, emergency water filtration is of limited appeal."

"I'll have someone come out from our vessel to bring supplies." M'onel said with a grin, adding, "I didn't catch your name."

"Sunburst." The heat generator said, "And we're Stormwatch."

* * *

Tyr leveled his weapon, prepared to destroy whatever was about to enter, when an intense burst of light temporarily blinded him. Finding himself reeling, Tyr called to his allies, "Situation, people," he hollered, "I can't see! Anyone else?"

"I'm blind, as well, sir!" Came Inferno's voice from the nearby.

"As am I!" Came another voice.

"Sorry, folks," said a female voice from above them, "I couldn't risk any ricochets doing any more damage."

Tyr's eyes began to clear as he became aware of a woman, no, a girl, who had floated down from the opening that was now in the cabin. She was human with short neck length blonde hair tied back with a golden hairband. She wore a crimson costume with a white cape that had gold trim. On her chest was a symbol that Tyr recognized from Earth's history. It was a massive yellow lightning bolt that ran down the length of her chest. But the belt she wore beneath it told an even more interesting tale.

"Captain Marvel..." Tyr muttered.

"Not quite, but we should be able to help you out anyways." She said with a smile, "Welcome to the Rock of Eternity, You can call me Thunder and I'm a member of..."

"The Legion of Super-Heroes." Nemesis Kid said, clearly noticing the makeshift symbol on her belt, as he approached. We wore a predatory smile on his face, "I am Hart and it is my utmost pleasure to meet you." He said holding out his hand to take hers. She offered her own and Nemesis Kid lightly kissed it with a smile which made her blush.

Tyr stepped forward, disgusted over this display. "My name is Tyr." He said. She smiled and took his hand in a firm shake. It was clear to him that she was incredibly powerful, as the legends of the Marvel Family said they all were.

"Have you met the Legion of Super-Heroes?" She asked him.

"Yes," Tyr responded, "On our world, we helped them repel a Dominator invasion."

Thunder was taken aback by this. "That's incredible!" She said, "That must have been after I left. So what do you call yourselves?"

"Call ourselves," came Mekt's weakened voice as he maneuvered over to the conversation, "We call ourselves the Wanderers."

**End Issue #1**


	2. Issue 2 Relentropy

**The New Wanderers Issue #2 - Relentropy**

Even as he watched Her, watch the Villain, watch them, the Badguy longed for Her to be near him once more. It had been so long since they had been together, first as friends, then, much later, as more. Still, the Badguy could not bring himself to act; not yet, anyways. He had to wait for all the players to fall into place, which would happen soon enough. In this place of timelessness, he had all the patience in the world.

Besides, patience was what a bad guy was supposed to have and he was, in fact, the Badguy. He knew this was true primarily because of the manipulation. Warworld, Stormwatch, the Rock of Eternity, the Prime Wanderers, the Villain, Her, all of these were his pieces; his pawns to be manipulated across a chess board with every square the same color. He was determined to see things through and would stop at nothing to ensure that his final goal was attained.

He looked for a mirror. There was none. He wanted to look good for Her.

As the Badguy watched, the Villain began to make his move. Of all of them, this was the true monster. It was with the barest hint of irony that the Badguy noted who the Villain really was. He would descend upon the Players like a storm cloud of malignant emptiness and there would be pain; there would be death. But that was what Heroes lived through. They had to endure or they would become bad guys, like the Badguy, or, even worse, villains, like the Villain.

The factor that stood out among all this, however, was Her. Where would she stand? Where did Her destiny lie? Her soul was taken from her and her pain never ceased from that moment. When the forces began to force allegiances, with whom would she walk?

Something skittered across the metal floor of the Badguy's control room. He would have to remember to deal with that later.

* * *

"I'm telling you," Sunburst said with more than a hint of agitation, "I have never heard of Superman or Wonder Woman or this Justice League or anything that you're talking about in my life."

"So you've never heard of any of these superheroes?" Asked Cosmic Boy, "Maybe in comic books or movies."

"Well, I never really read comics," Sunburst replied, "I was more of a football guy when I was a kid."

"Leon had some comic books." Added the Stormwatch member called Sublime of her teammate Frostbite, who was currently in the makeshift medical bay as Invisible Kid and one of their own, Dr. Grunier, were doing their best to save his life, "I don't remember seeing any of those characters. He mostly had ones based on real people, like Majestic."

"But they are 'real people'!" Triad pleaded, "They were the inspiration for the Legion!"

"Hmm." Brainiac 5.1 said, eliciting a look from the rest of his teammates. They waited for a further explanation, but none seemed forthcoming.

"Brainy," Kid Quantum said in an admonishing tone, "What do you mean, 'hmm'?"

"It is clear that these individuals come from a Universe that is vastly different from the ones we have experienced." The Coluan said, calmly, "It is entirely possible that they have never encountered anyone from the heroic era that we are familiar with, even though they appear to be from the Early 21st Century."

"Early 21st..." The one called Jester repeated, "You're time travelers, aren't you?!"

The members of the Wanderers stared at him for a moment, unable to determine the best way to explain Stormwatch's current situation. Finally, the silence was broken.

"Captain Atom!" Sunburst suddenly erupted.

"What?" Brainiac 5.1 asked her in surprise.

"The message from the Authority said that they were dealing with an SPB from an Alternative Earth called Captain Atom." Explained Sunburst, "The next thing we knew, the Daemonites and Kherubim were high-tailing it off-planet."

"With the crisis," Nautika continued, "Stormwatch members were pulled in from all over. Team Achilles was to coordinate the and my husband, er, Sunburst, and I were brought out of retirement."

"When the aliens started getting the hell out of Dodge, we managed to pull four of the old Stormwatch shuttles out of mothballs and see if we could intercept." Sunburst added, "If they knew what was happening, we wanted to know, as well. We set about putting together teams as best we could with the SPBs that were available."

"As we left orbit, we saw a wave of white energy enveloping the Earth and bolts of the energy shooting out. We watched as some of the alien ships and the other three shuttles were wiped out. We were following a Kherubim vessel into a warp gate when everything went white for us, well."

"The ship took one hell of a hit and the cockpit was shattered. We were slammed around pretty badly, but Frostbite managed to use his cold generation abilities to seal the vessel, despite injuries he sustained from the blast."

"We floated for a while, but we really had no idea how long. There was no way to tell time. All we know is that we were pretty much out of supplies and running low on atmosphere. It couldn't have been more than a week, really."

"You're lucky we found you, then." Triad said.

"Perhaps..." Brainiac 5.1 added.

"What do you mean, 'perhaps', Brainy?" Triad retorted, "If we hadn't found them, they'd be dead."

"No. No, I don't think they would be." The Coluan explained, "They weren't in any danger because they were in a form of temporal stasis."

"How do you know?" Kid Quantum inquired.

"When you brought their shuttle in, I scanned for any temporal anomalies, as I normally would." Brainiac 5.1 expounded, "I noticed that your stasis field, Kid Quantum, interacted with the remnants of another stasis effect. Although the effect had ceased by the time you arrived, a residue of the prior stasis effect remained."

"But I didn't feel anything." Quantum added, "Wouldn't I have felt some sort of pushing back if my stasis field had interacted with another one?"

"It didn't," the scientist said, "The prior effect had stopped affecting the shuttle, so there was no active field to deal with. I imagine if it had been in effect, there would have been quite a feedback to deal with on your end, Jazmin."

"So what does this mean to us?" Sunburst asked the pair, "What happened to our Earth?"

Brainiac looked at them, trying to find the words to explain to them what had happened. He couldn't find them. Since his self-upgrade, Brainiac 5.1 was able to better empathize with others. This had come in quite handy a number of times, but was most notable when he interacted with his two alternate selves. The older Brainiac 5 from New Earth lacked the capacity to understand the needs of others, although he had developed the insight to perceive emotion. The younger Brainiac 5, the one Universe-Prime, lacked any emotional understanding and, furthermore, any trust. Observing them led Brainiac 5.1 to realize that his upgrade was not only the right thing to do, but the best thing he could have done to help in his own evolution. It ensured that he would never become like his infamous ancestor, the original Brainiac, who sought to evolve through becoming more machine-like and eliminating emotional attachments altogether.

Of course, the drawback to having empathy for others was that sometimes it became impossible to find the right words for the duty at hand. Kid Quantum, however, was able to both understand his delay and find the right way to tell them.

"I'm sorry," she said, immediately eliciting the understanding that they may not have a world to which to return, "That white energy, it was pure entropy. Just as it with our universe, it consumed yours."

"Consumed..." Sublime said, "What do you mean by 'consumed'?"

"It has been destroyed, Sublime." Karate Kid said solemnly as he entered the room, "And, I am sorry, but your comrade did not make it."

"Fr... Frosbite?" The young girl said, clearly trying to take it all in, "He... he's..."

"We did everything we could," the Kid added, "But I am afraid that our makeshift medical lab does not have the facilities necessary to offer proper modern medical care."

"By modern, Rachel," offered Dr. Grunier, using Sublime's birth name, "He means from the Wanderers' 31st Century. We were still working with equipment far in advance to what we have available in our century, but the internal damage was far too severe."

Sublime lowered her head. Jazmin moved close to her and put a hand on her shoulder. In response, Sublime firmly embraced Kid Quantum and put her head on the Wanderer's shoulder. She wasn't sobbing and she didn't appear to be crying at all. Brainiac 5.1 knew that she was probably in shock, a perfectly reasonable response given the circumstances. He looked around the room and observed the other new arrivals.

Sunburst and Nautika drew closer to each other. They had mentioned that they were husband and wife and were also, clearly, the most experienced on the team. Sunburst was a tall, good-looking man with blonde hair, tan skin, and blue eyes. He wore a red bodysuit with a yellow sunburst design on the upper-left of his chest. Gold-colored bracers and a belt of pouches on his right thigh completed Sunburst's outfit. He was every bit the superhero archetype of the late 20th Century.

His wife, on the other hand, was a bit more distinct. Nautika had the body of a normal human, despite the unnatural tint which seemed to change based on her environment. Currently it had a gray tinge to it, like that of the Nomad's interior. Her face was what gave her away as being something other than human. She lacked any nose, whatsoever, and her ears were pointed. This was possibly due to some form of amphibious heritage as she seemed to have some sea-going capabilities. She wore her deep black hair in a shoulder-length bob and a shiny black and green bodysuit.

The rest of the group was dealing with the news in their own way as well. Taboo had been quiet since they had arrived. She had chalk white skin, bright red lips, long , curly crimson hair, and green eyes. Her incredibly revealing outfit appeared to be made out of some form of living red metal to which a tail was attached that she could manipulate. She had seemed all but catatonic; not speaking and simply remaining on the perhipheral. Brainiac noted that the only response she had to the news of her universe was one of a light nod. It seemed possible that she had somehow already suspected that her world had been destroyed.

The three soldiers also seemed to take it in stride. Dr. Grunier with her dark hair and blue eyes, had clearly seen a great deal in her career as a combat medic. The one they called "Jester" let out an ironic chuckle and swore when he heard the news. He was dressed in combat uniform, but he was clearly different than the other soldiers. His skin was golden and his eyes were bright red. The most curious reaction was from the masked soldier named Weiss. He had been on alert since they had arrived and, despite reassurances that they were safe, had remained combat-ready. Upon hearing the fate of his universe of origin, he let out a sigh that Brainiac 5.1 could have interpreted as relief.

Then there was Sublime. Tall, blonde, and well-muscled, her outfit consisted of 20th-Century blue jeans, a tank top, and leather straps wrapped around her limbs. She had a tattoo of a massive "29" on the shoulder of one arm and three horizontal lines on the other. In some ways, she reminded Brainiac of Laurel. It seemed as though she had been closest to Frostbite and yet, the tears did not come to her. She simply held onto Jazmin with her head on the Wanderer's shoulder and her hazel eyes wide.

Brainiac 5.1 suddenly became aware of what he had lost, as well. He had never really fit in anywhere in the universe from which he hailed, until he met the Legion. But he thought about those who had treated him poorly as a youth, especially Kwyrr Xuj and Jeft Gex, whose taunts had actually forced a reaction out of him in the form of young Querl's placing jamming Grix in each of their education chambers and temporarily reducing them to the mental capacity of infants. He thought of Rond Vidar, his friend and confidant and how the two of them, plus Lyle Norg, the Invisible Kid, would often go out on the town in Metropolis with the intention of getting sprocked, only to end up spending the evening discussing theories and new inventions and eventually retiring to the labs until morning.

He thought about his mother.

She was a monster. She had abandoned him as a baby because she felt no emotional attachment to him. She had formulated a plan to overthrow the United Planets and take over the Galaxy as leader of the Dark Circle. She was his mother. Brainiac had always imagined that he would, one day, manage to reconcile with her once her insanity had been cured.

Now, that would never happen.

For the first time in his life, Brainiac experienced a rush of despair. He had always pushed away his emotions, even after he had experienced his "upgrade", he had still kept his emotional state in check. Now, however, all that repression was coming back to hit him. His chest convulsed and he could feel tears welling up behind his eyes. He turned away from the assembled and steeled himself. Of everyone there, he could not be seen to be weak in any way. It was the reason he had returned to using the "point one" following his codename after encountering the other two Brainiac 5's. He had to seem stronger than everyone else; a hard lesson he had learned when he and several other Legionnaires were trapped on the far side of their universe for a time: people relied on Brainiac 5.1.

He turned back to the others, having maintained his control, for now. He watched as Kid Quantum separated herself from Sublime. He thought about what she could do. She could stop time in a localized area, an ability she had mastered for a wide variety of uses. She could also detect similar effects, to some degree, but she had not detected the effect that was in place on Stormwatch's shuttle. There seemed to be no reason...

"Wait!" Brainiac 5.1 suddenly bellowed, "It's us!"

Everyone looked at him in confusion. "Brainy," Cosmic Boy said, "What are you talking about?"

"The stasis effect!" He explained, "It's not an effect that was on the shuttle, it's an effect that is not on us!"

"What do you mean?" Kid Quantum asked.

"Stormwatch was in stasis, right?"

She nodded.

"Well the reason they were in stasis is because they were in this place." The Coluan said, "We're the ones that are motive, no one else."

"So why would that be the case?" Cosmic Boy asked him.

"Someone wants us mobile." Karate Kid answered, looking to Brainiac 5.1 for confirmation.

"Kid Quantum, Karate Kid?" He said, "I need you to meet Invisible Kid and myself in the lab."

The three of them rushed off, leaving the rest behind without explanation.

* * *

Thunder was pleased. After months traveling through the limbo between universes, she had managed to finally locate and rescue someone. Furthermore, it was someone with a connection to those whom she was searching for. The Wanderers, it turned out, had fought alongside the Legion during a war to protect Earth from Dominators. She had managed to rescue a team of heroes who were allied with the team of heroes to which she had once been an active member. It seemed that fate had turned in her favor.

It seemed so long ago that she had returned to the simple life of 90th Century teenager CeCe Beck; living with her parents in New Fawcett City on the planet Binderaan, recieving daily lessons from the edunet, engaging in MYSI (Mandatory Youth Social Interaction); all the while dreaming of her battles alongside the greatest heroes of the 31st Century. She tried to be a normal teenager, but whenever even the smallest possible danger appeared, she would say the name of the wizard who had granted her her powers, "Captain Marvel", and become the superhero Thunder to save the day. To the people of New Fawcett, she had become a symbol of hope.

That was until the white energy appeared in the sky.

The Captain, seemed to have an understanding as to what it was. He called CeCe to him and explained that the white energy would devour her world. He told her that the only way to stop it would be to find heroes and bring them to Binderaan so they could defeat whatever was causing the destruction. She was to speak the word she had used to move backwards and forwards in time, "Shazam" and actually move the entire Rock of Eternity with her, this time. Knowing who she needed to help her, CeCe pictured her friends in the far past of the 31st Century and said the word.

Unfortunately, where she found herself, the Rock, and the Wizard was an infinite void of whiteness. Captain Marvel became very confused, but CeCe knew that the Legion was somewhere in the void. She would find them, help them save their home and then lead them to save her own.

Encountering the Wanderers made her feel she was definitely heading in the right direction. She moved into the are where she had parked their vessel. The team had already begun making repairs and Thunder had granted them whatever supplies they could find in the Rock of Eternity. Being a place of magic and timelessness, the Rock had acquired a great deal of technological flotsam throughout the millennia. This was mostly kept in an area referred to as "The Scrapcave" by the Captain and with what could be found there, there could be little doubt that the Wanderers' vessel could be rebuilt.

"Thunder?" Said Mekt Ranzz as he approached the young hero, "May I have a word?"

"Of course, Mekt." She said, "What is it?"

The leader of the Wanderers had been weakened by some force. He was a wielder of electrical power, but his abilities had gone out of control as he neared the Rock of Eternity. Thunder (or, perhaps, the wisdom of Solomon) couldn't help but think that was more than a coincidence.

"You have been an amazing host and have done more for us than we could have asked for..."

"Why do I feel a 'but' is coming in there?" She interrupted.

"But," Mekt iterated, "There are some discrepancies in your story that I don't understand."

"Such as?"

"Well, you stated that you were a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes, but I don't recall any member with your name or description. Even if you were a member before we fought the Dominators, it seems as though I would know who you were. My brother is a founding member, my sister an early recruit, and the team hasn't been around that long."

"They haven't?"

"Less than a year." He said, "Since Cosmic Boy, Saturn Girl, and Lightning Lad saved..."

"Wait, wait wait..." Thunder interrupted again, "'Lightning Lad'? Don't you mean 'Livewire'?"

"My brother's codename is Lightning Lad."

"No, it's Livewire. I had a bit of a thing for him, but he only had eyes for Saturn Girl."

"I think I know my brother's codename." Mekt said with a tiny amount of bitterness.

Thunder stared at Mekt, skeptically. She suddenly came to a realization that seemed more obvious than the unlikely circumstances in which she had thought she found hersef: "You're not from the universe where I met the Legion." She said.

"That's preposterous!" Mekt replied, "What other universe is there?"

"Oh, more than you would think." Thunder said with a smile, "I'm from one, although one with close ties to the Legion's. Technically, I guess when I'm from would be considered an alternate future."

Mekt stared at her with disbelief. "You're insane." He finally said, throwing his hands up in exasperation, "A billion parsecs from all time and space and the only person we run into is a Marvel who has gone crazy."

Thunder was suddenly furious. She had a hard time believing that someone who had worked alongside the Legion of Super-Heroes could be so close-minded. She glared as him, trying to find the words to tell him he was wrong in a way that would make him believe her, but for whatever reason, when she stared at him all she could think was how much she wanted to slam her fist down his smug throat. It was this that startled her. She was never that angry and, in fact, had no such feelings for any of the other Wanderers she had rescued. However, Mekt Ranzz seemed to push all her buttons. She felt every emotion vastly intensified since she was near him. Only when she had noticed the rage had she realized this was the case. She pondered this as the Wanderer called Acumen approached the group.

"If I may interject, Mekt," he said, calmly, "The young lady is possibly quite correct."

Mekt Ranzz and the rest of the Wanderers suddenly glared at the green-skinned Coluan, suspiciously. Several of them dropped their heads or otherwise reacted negatively, but Thunder noticed that both Nemesis Kid and Tyr seemed to glance at each other as though they had the same idea.

"The theory of multiple realities has been proven and disproven time and again throughout history." Acumen went on to explain, "For example: we only have proof that there were a handful of heroes in the 20th Century on Earth; Superboy, Atlezz, and yet, we seem to have records for dozens of them. Including the Marvel family to which Thunder belongs."

Mekt stared at Acumen for a long moment, sizing up their situation. Finally, he came to the realization of exactly how dire their situation was. "Then, tell me, Vrax," he said with a coldness to his voice, "Given that information, how likely is it that we will be able to return home."

"I'm afraid that it is all but impossible." The Coluan said.

There was a long silence. Acumen, noticing that the conversation seemed to have ended, went back to his calculations on his datapad. The other Wanderers whispered among themselves; Nemesis Kid to Tyr, Tarik, and Telekinesis, Kid Quake to Micro Lass, Physo, Plant Lad, and Polar Boy. The others; Inferno, Titangirl, Thoom, and White Witch, seemed lost in thought. Mekt stared at the wall, as though he was searching for an answer in the cold, mystical stone that he knew wasn't there. Thunder felt intense sympathy for these people. They had just realized that they might never return home.

Thunder thought differently. She knew that the Legion could save her home and she knew that they could help the Wanderers return to theirs. She wanted to say so, but the words failed her. She reached forward and touched her hand to Mekt's shoulder.

She was violently assaulted by his electrical aura. The energy coursed through her like nothing she had felt since she had become Thunder. She could feel every cell in her body screaming at once. Her eyes felt as though they would burst from the pressure. She screamed a primal scream and fell away from the Wanderer, her body still coursing with the electrical energy. She was confused and afraid. She was supposed to be immune to electricity.

"Pity!?" Mekt screamed at her, arcs of electrical energy coursing through his form and from his eyes, "You feel pity for us!? How dare you!? You think that your 'Legion' can help us, then they will! We'll find this false Legion of Super-Heroes and make them take us home!"

"Mekt!" Titangirl yelled at him as she approached, "Stop that! This girl has been nothing but kind to us!" She neared the leader of their team, but she dared not touch him.

As suddenly as the energy had appeared on Mekt, it was gone, along with Thunder's pain. She struggled to stand as the leader of the Wanderers stammered for words, clearly aware that he had over-reacted and terrified of what had happened.

Thunder stood and glared at him. Whatever he was feeling wasn't his fault. There was some reaction happening to him thanks to his proximity to the Rock of Eternity. It was possible that the lightning which powered the Marvels was having some sort of reaction with his own electrical generation abilities. Thunder knew that he was not responsibly for his emotional overload.

But right now she didn't care.

"Listen, fraghole!" She said, closing in on him, menacingly, but being careful not to touch him, "You are in my home enjoying my hospitality. I will help you as best as I can, but another reaction like that and you'll be back floating through nothingness as time lost junk!"

Thunder swept past him and flew down the hall. She passed by several of the other Wanderers as she did so and was able to hear a single word from the one called Tyr.

"Interesting."

* * *

"Brainy, what are we doing?" Kid Quantum inquired as they ran down into the lab.

"Why do I ever run, Jazmin?" Brainiac said, as he stepped up to the computers he had completed modifying only the day before, "I have a theory and it is important enough for me to run."

"That," Lyle Norg, the Invisible Kid, said with a grin as he appeared near the other three, "Or monsters. You sometimes run from monsters."

"You are mistaken, Lyle," Brainiac 5.1 said, "I do not run from monsters. I run towards what is going to get rid of the monsters." He turned to Karate Kid, "Val, I need you to watch that sensor bay over there. I'm going to modify it to seek out an anti stasis effect and I need you to use your skills at finding weak points to point any out."

"Okay." Karate Kid said, agreeing to the command even if he didn't fully understand why.

"Kid Quantum, do you think you could use your abilities to generate an anti-stasis field?" The Coluan asked her.

"I don't see why not." Jazmin Cullen responded, "I've never tried before because things are usually moving anyways, but..."

"I only ask that you try, Jazmin." Brainiac 5.1 interjected, "Start by creating a stasis field around those receptors and then try to switch to the opposite of that. If you are able, alternate between those two effects every five seconds."

"I'll do what I can, Brainy." She agreed.

"Lyle, I need you..." Brainiac started, but apparently noticed that Invisible Kid was already near the stasis field monitoring system that he had developed.

Lyle, for his part, had already determined exactly what it was Brainiac was thinking. Since they had arrived in this place, the assumption had been that they would be able to find other objects by seeking out stasis fields. To this end, upon taking over and refitting Warworld, Lyle had built a stasis field locator using Kid Quantum's field as a model. Despite the fact that she had seemed to be greatly weakened by some factor they couldn't determine on Warworld, Lyle had managed to configure the system and was able to test it on Jazmin's feilds outside the vessel. Unfortunately, when locating any sort of stasis other than Kid Quantum's, the system failed. The greatest regret of this was that it would have had a nearly unlimited range, allowing for mush swifter locating of those lost in the Multiverse.

However, it now seemed to not have been a wasted effort. If Querl was right, the monitoring system could help them find some answers. It could also, theoretically, be reversed to locate anti-stasis effects, effectively doing exactly what it had been built to do: locate those who needed help.

The entire process began. Jazmin shunted a feild of static time around Brainiac's energy receptors and then, after a count of five, reversed the effect, despite a minor change in the local gravity as everyone felt a slight pull towards the receptors, there was no noticeable difference between the anti-stasis effect and no effect at all. Brainiac 5.1, however, was clearly pleased with the result. He fed the altered readings to Lyle who then entered them into the stasis field monitor. After a minute, he spoke up.

"Thank you, Jazmin, you can stop." He said with graciousness that he might not have had early in his career, "Lyle, I need you to now try to detect any effects that might be on War... er... Nomad One in regards to anti-stasis."

Lyle did so, re-configuring the system to turn the sensors inward. Sure enough, the entire vessel was surrounded by such an effect.

"Brainy," Invisible Kid said with excitement, "You're right, we are surrounded by an anti-stasis effect."

"And there is a weakness in it." Karate Kid added, "Sector 236 by 17 on the upper hemisphere of the hull. It is slighter there than anywhere else."

"Lyle," Brainiac said as he stood and walked over to Invisible Kid, "Focus on that area and see if you can trace the source of the..."

"Got it!" Invisible Kid blurted out in excitement.

Everyone just stared at him.

"The source of the anti-stasis energy that's affecting us is about 300 parsecs that way." Lyle added, pointing for effect. He looked at the rest of the team who were in the room with a wry smile. Cosmic Boy, Ultra Boy, and Saturn Girl entered and seemed surprised by the silence in the room.

"What's happening?" Rokk asked.

"This place," Brainiac 5.1 began, "Has an effect that causes objects and individuals to fall into stasis while within. I theorized that the effect might only be on inanimate objects, but after our encounter with Stormwatch, I began to think otherwise."

"If this is the natural effect," Lyle added with no small amount of pride, "Then something or someone doesn't want it affecting us. We're being affected by an anti-stasis field which we've just managed to detect."

"We have located the source, as well." Brainiac added, "We can determine why someone would do such a thing or what would cause it, in the unlikely event it is some naturally-occurring phenomenon."

Cosmic Boy smiled. "Well, then," He said, "We should get this thing moving in that direction."

"I almost hope someone is causing it." Ultra Boy added, "And I sorta hope they're not friendly about it. We could use some action."

As if on cue, the proximity alarms went off. Brainiac 5.1 moved back to the sensors.

"Well, Jo, you may get your wish." He said, "I am detecting multiple incoming contacts."

"Do we have a visual?" Rokk asked as he moved to Brainiac's side.

"Brining it up now." Lyle said as he touched the necessary buttons on the relay.

The large screen in the lab lit up with the whiteness of the void. However, instead of the usual, unmarred emptiness, it was dotted with moving forms. Lyle focused the camera and zoomed in on one of the forms. It was a humanoid, with caucasion skin, but only the mouth could be seen beneath its armor. The armor itself was black and gold with massive metallic wings that matched the color scheme. The half-helmet was gold in color and had slits for the eyes. The shimmer of a force field could be seen around each and every one of the creatures. They were all armed with brutal-looking energy rifles and high-tech maces that hung from their belts. On their chest was a symbol that was familiar to everyone in the room.

It was a black "o" with a gold center.

"That's impossible." Kid Quantum said, "They were beaten."

"And erased." Ultra Boy added.

"They are coming from the direction of the anti-stasis effect." Karate Kid noted.

"Brainy," Lyle said, in as reassuring a manner as he could, "It can't be her. Even if it is the Dark Circle, it can't possibly be her."

But Lyle was certain that his assuranes fell on deaf ears as Brainiac 5.1 stared at the screen in shock. One word left his lips as he did so.

"Mother."

**End Issue #2**

_**Note from the Author:**_

_(Okay, I just became aware that links don't translate directly. Hold out and I will write in the code when I have a chance. Sorry about that.)_

_So, there is a lot to this and it pulls from a ton of sources. I became aware of the fact that this could all be quite confusing to anyone who has anything less than my encyclopedic knowledge of all things in the many DC Universes (which means that Mark Waid and Geoff Johns won't need these notes I'll be putting in here and everyone else has a life). That said, I am going to recommend some sources for further reading, if you're interested. I'm going to do this for each issue and then follow it up with a "Next Issue" blurb. Almost like I'm a real comic writer *sigh*._

_The main group of Wanderers is made up of the reboot Legion (also known as the "Archie" Legion by people who think they're smarter than you or I but are, invariably, wrong). You can read some great information on them at __Wikipedia__ or, even better, Michael Kooiman's excellent __Cosmic Teams__ site._

_Further information on the "Stormwatch" characters can, pretty much, only be found at the __Wildstorm Resource Wiki__. It's a little confusing, at first, but has some of the best information on these characters. Also, I should note than not all the characters are actually Stormwatch, Sublime and the late Frostbite are from DV8, Taboo is from Backlash, and Jester from Wetworks. At the end of the Wildstorm Universe (in Captain Atom: Armageddon, sorry to ruin the ending), there area lot of characters who would be doing something, but aren't shown on panel. This is my explanation for that._

_The Wanderers encountered by Thunder are from the "threeboot" Legion. It was revealed in Legion of 3 Worlds that this team was from Superboy-Prime's Earth, which is why I put in the half-assed no-prize explanation. There isn't much on them, but here's the __wiki__ and the __Cosmic Teams__ entries._

_Lastly, you can read all about Thunder at __Major Spoilers__ thanks to Matthew Peterson._

_**Next Issue:**__ While Thunder tries to find a way to get Mekt Ranzz's Wanderer's home, the main team faces off against an army of Hawkman clones. But the master of the clone forces will shock everyone._


End file.
